Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes

Thursday photo prompt: Poised #writephoto

The image shows a leaf-strewn flight of stone-cut steps descending into a hole in the ground. Poised to ascend…or descend… is the dark silhouette of a strange figure…

Old Ones

An ancient creature whose face is hidden

Behind the mouth of a cave

The sound of footsteps

Is his home about to be invaded?

If captured, he would become a specimen

In a zoo.

It’s life, but not as he knows it

Nor wants it to be

He cannot run or blend in with the garden

He lives in

A secret place he believed would shield him

Keep him safe

Footsteps too near now, his heart pounding

Is it men with a gun as he had seen years ago?

When he had been left as a baby to fend for himself

Too small to be seen

Not this time, it is a female of his own kind

He cared not where she came from

His loneliness is over

Now he will block the inner opening with boulders

So, they will be free, safe to live their own way.

©Anita Dawes